Our Night at the Museum

Happy Birthday Buddy!

There once was a little girl named Amalia. She loved playing with her mommy's friend Kellie on Thursdays while Mommy worked, but she wanted a special friend of her own.

So she was very excited when Kellie and her husband Mike welcomed baby Jack into their family two years ago yesterday! Mali tried very hard to be gentle around Jack the first time she met him. (That was probably the last time she was ever bigger than him).

Jack became the favorite visitor to Mali's house and together they shared stuffed animals, books, push cars, blocks, and whatever snacks Kellie would pack in their bag. When Mali's baby sister Brinnly arrived, she too loved Jack's attention and he was as sweet as ever to her.

One special day last June, Jack came to play with Amalia and Brinnly all day. When his daddy came to pick him up that night he had a special surprise for him--Jack's sister Abigail had arrived! The girls had so much fun welcoming her and watching Jack thrive in his big brother role.

Even now, when there are way too many miles separating Mali and Jack (and their sisters and parents) they are still best buddies. She prays for him every night, includes him in most conversations, and loves a good phone conversation with him. Hopefully an in-person visit will happen again soon. Have a wonderful birthday Jack! We love you!

(Note--this post was supposed to include pictures but our desktop computer is only halfway repaired, making that impossible. Next time, Jack, next time)

20 Weeks

We're halfway there!

Lenten Season 2009

We went to Ash Wednesday service this week and began the season of Lenten reflection. Like many people, we try to give up or add something to our daily lives in order to remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us. I'll admit that giving up anything food-related is a struggle in pregnancy! So, we decided to spend time specifically memorizing and teaching our girls hymns and Scripture during this time. I asked our church's immensely talented music director (come check out our church sometime and see for yourself!) for her suggestions on how exactly to do that with toddlers. Here is her response:

YAY! One of my favorite questions!
--447 Jesus, in Your Dying Woes always works well because the little ones can pick the "Hear Us, Holy Jesus" line at the end.
--420 Christ the Life of All the Living also has that wonderful refrain.
-434 Lamb of God, Pure and Holy is also rich yet repetitive and even if they only get the "Have mercy on us, O ... Read More Jesus!" what else do we really need!?!
--I am always a fan of 433 Glory Be to Jesus (what we will do in SS opening all through Lent), especially the first two stanzas because it gives such a tactile reference. I like to show the little children the veins on the back of their wrists, talk about how that is how blood runs through our body. Then you talk about how Jesus was both a God and Man and had veins just like ours and how His veins were pierced by a nail for us.
--And, of course, the parts of the liturgy are so wonderful, especially the Kyrie and Agnus Dei.
Enjoy! And thanks for giving me ideas of what to do with my boys this Lent.

(hymn numbers are from the Lutheran Service Book)

How are you recognizing Lent this year?

Weekend Retreat

We had only planned on staying overnight at the Meyers' new home in Fort Wayne this week, but God knew what he was doing when he sent the most recent winter storm that way. We needed an excuse to stay a day longer! Unfortunately, the bitter cold made even sledding to difficult so we just enjoyed chatting, eating, coffee, and watching kids friendships develop. We even got to check out their wonderful new church! Mali became so inspired by Ben and Timmy's maturity that she too dropped the diaper habit this weekend! With the oh-so-subtle encouragement from her parents of course. Maybe dry nights will be in our future someday too. And Brinnly loved the attention from her godparents although she wasn't too keen on newborn baby Miriam at first. "NO BABY, NO BABY, NO BABY!" she said when she saw me holding her. If she only knew what was coming...

We love you and your new home, Meyers! Especially since it's only a naptime drive away!

Who needs Hallmark?

Four on Friday

1) Spring WAS here for a few days this past week and we were all glad for a chance to see the outdoors. For those of you that live in Pittsburgh--take advantage of those parks! We miss them.

2) Second midwife appointment yesterday and all is well. Our due date (not that our kids follow things like that) is July 20, and we will NOT be finding out the gender ahead of time. Stay tuned for the baby pool...

3) As many of you know, we've stumbled onto Facebook in the past few days. It's very intriguing to see up-to-the minute updates on friends. Oh, Kellie's taking a nap! Karianne just talked to her realtor!

4) Valentine's Day is full-force around here. I wrote a valentine to Brinn, dictated by Mali that says "You are good at drinking water. And good at drinking juice". Oh, the closeness of sisters.

Ponytails

It was a cute five minutes.

Steeler Nation

We may not live in the Steel City anymore, but we were all decked out in our black-and-gold all day yesterday. The party we were invited to was a mixed crowd, but we held our own cheering for our faves Hines Ward (no relation in case you were wondering) and Jeff Reed. What a memorable game. All of us lasted until the very end. And then wished we could be there in Oakland, celebrating with the rest of die-hards. Nevermind that you can't really do that well with 2+ kids.



Mali even wore her shirt to bed!

Five on Friday

1) Winter is now officially half over. Woo-hoo! At last count, this region of Michigan has had 89 inches of snow (the estimate for the entire year was 80 inches) and there is more to come this weekend.

2) In case you were wondering, the girls decided the other day that they will be frogs this year for Halloween and the baby will be a lion. Since they already have their future birthday celebrations planned out, Halloween was the next logical event to discuss.

3) Speaking of the baby, I interviewed a midwife the other day and we are going to change to her practice from our family doctor's. Our experiences with the Midwife Center in Pittsburgh were so positive that we like to have something comparable.

4) Don't tell my food blog, but the kids and I had Pasta Roni for lunch today. I did manage to sneak broccoli in it as well as also serve turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread on the side.

4) Here we go, Steelers, here we go! Pittsburgh is going to the Super Bowl--again! I already have our family's outfits picked out for that big day. I'm not used to living in a place where wearing your football fan gear is not approrpiate for church. No one had a problem with that in either Milwaukee or Pittsburgh.

A new (blog) addition

Kellie and I have launched a new blog: Two Crowded Kitchens. Check out our takes on healthy living and feeding growing families!

Miriam Elisabeth Meyer

My BFF and godmother to our Brinnly Ruth now has a little pink bundle of joy to call her own. Congratulations to all of the Meyer family--parents Jonathan & Ruth and big brothers Benjamin & Timothy. Miriam entered the world on January 2, 2009 and was 6 lbs, 11 oz. We can't wait to travel to Fort Wayne soon to meet her and add to the shower of pink I'm sure their home is experiencing.

Christmas Part III (Third in a Three-Part Series)

All of our Christmas seasons as a family have involved traveling away from home for at least part of the celebrations. So ever since Mali was born, we have celebrated January 5th, the 12th day of Christmas, to spend time together at home, as an immediate family. We have a somewhat-special dinner together (it's usually more elaborate when we're not in the middle of unpacking and growing a third baby) and have the girls open a present from us. As you can see, it was a kitchen set this year. This year we reflected on our Christmas celebrations and sang a few carols. Now if we could only make it to an Epiphany service...

Pittsburgh 2008-2009

Playing. Porch-swinging. Cuddling, Dancing. Eating. More eating. Rocking. New Year's In-Ringing. All the makings of a wonderful vacation.







(Looking through these, there were so many other opportunities for pictures that we missed. Our apologies especially to the White family, for being so busy eating at your house that we forgot to capture those moments!)

Christmas Part II

What are those things on the girls' heads, you ask? Christmas hats? Elf costumes? Umm, no. The girls enjoyed opening stocking stuffers at Grandma Dena's house after Christmas and were beyond-excited that "Santa' (in this case, Grandma Deni) had brought Mali big girl Elmo-themed panties. Not that Santa had envisioned them being used in that particular manner. But Brinn can't pass up any chance for dress-up so on the heads they went. And the other stocking treats were a hit as well, for both adults and kids alike.

Christmas Part I

We were blessed to be able to host our first Christmas ever this year as the Shunkwiler clan (plus Aunt Kara's beau, Josh) joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They arrived with the "sleigh" packed with gifts and we enjoyed good food, beautiful worship services, and family time together. Santa was supplied with cookies and milk and rewarded the girls with a toddler trampoline. And like any good father would, Jonathan ultimately told Mali (upon persistent asking on her part) that Santa was indeed pretend, but we could have fun and pretend together. And that no, Jesus was not pretend. She still asks to go pick Santa up at the mall so he can come to our house as well as pick Mary and Joseph up at the airport. We're working on an answer for that one.

A Happy, Happy New Year

We ushered in the new year last night in one of our favorite places in the world...Pittsburgh, PA. Our first trip back "home" since our move. We were planning to arrive here mid-day Wednesday, but were so excited to start our vacation that we left Monday evening and drove straight through. The girls were star travelers--we can only hope this streak continues for the ride home.

And how we have missed this place and those who live here! We have been soaking up time with our friends, had one of several relaxing playdates with the Ryans, enjoyed delicious as well as healthy foods at the Whites, ventured on to our old street and even worshipped at First Trinity this morning. Tonight, thanks to our wonderful Pittsburgh baby-sitters, the Terhunes, we even enjoyed a date night with the Andraes while the three girls ran wild at home.

Michigan, we love you, but I think we will regularly need a good dose of Pittsburgh from now on.

Welcome 2009!

Christmas Wishes from the Wards

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

May that Word, Jesus, richly bless you this season.

Merry Christmas!
Jonathan, Kaethe, Amalia, & Brinnly

Birthday Preparations and Celebrations

We managed to recover from a quick-onset stomach flu in order to host a Christmas-birthday-belated housewarming party this past weekend. Jonathan and the girls whipped up a batch of double-chocolate cupcakes. Delish! Our dear families braved blizzard-like conditions to supply us with goodies and willing hands for the cleaning, cooking, and decorating that fell by the wayside this past week. And then we feasted and celebrated!

Why we own a minivan

We expect our backseat to look like this in July--but one will be an infant seat!

Fifteen Months Old

A long-overdue final shot with Pooh, but here is our littlest girl. Although she would be the first to note that she's not so little anymore. She is quite the walker and really hasn't sat down ever since her friends Jack and Gail Ryan left a few weeks ago. Jack definitely encouraged her to show off her moves. Her ideal method of transportation is pushing a grocery cart or stroller, preferably with a bag and purse around her shoulder. She doesn't seem to take offense when her daddy refers to her as the "bag lady". Just this week she picked up a few words including "please", "up", "hi", "Mali", "purple" and one specifically referring to potty-training that she loves to use for shock value. She is FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY sleeping until at least six a.m. at which time she demands her new favorite food--a bowl of cereal. Or five. She is now officially finished nursing and we're all proud to have made it this long. And she has high hopes of upstaging her sister in next year's Christmas program.